Dispenser



March 25, 1952 s c, w s 2,590,138

DISPENSER Filed Oct. 25, 1948 Tia. l. I

INVENTOR lfZ/M/VEA C- Wu s- ATTORN EY 7 Patented Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSER ration of New Jersey Application October 23, 1948, Serial No. 56,178

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in disposable dispensers for pharmaceutical formulations in the nature of liquids, semiliquids, jellies, creams, and powders and particularly relates to dispensers adapted to the application of such pharmarceutical formulations into body cavities.

Heretofore it has been the practice to introduce non-solid pharmaceutical formulations, such as jellies, creams, and powders which are used for the treatment of infections in body cavities such as vaginal infections and for contraception, into such cavities by means of a dispenser which has been filled with a pharmaceutical formulation from a collapsible tube. It has been customary to use the dispenser or applicator repeatedly. The practice of repeatedly using a dispenser or applicator for the introduction of the pharmaceutical formulation into a body cavity entails several disadvantages: the reuse of a mechanical dispenser subjects the patient to the possibility of reinfection if the dispenser or applicator is not adequately sterilized after each use. The combination of the dispenser and a collapsible tube containing the pharmaceutical composition to be introduced into a body cavity is bulky and cumbersome.

An object of this invention is to provide a dispenser or applicator by means of which a pharmaceutical formulation in the form of a liquid, semiliquid, jelly, cream, or powder may be neatly, quickly, and conveniently dispensed into a body cavity.

A further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser of simple and inexpensive construction which may be readily manufactured in large quantities and economically discarded or disposed of after its initial use.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser or applicator for a pharmaceutical formulation which in addition to providing means for applying the formulation also serves to provide a holder or container for the formulation prior to its being dispensed into a body cavity.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a dispenser of the class described which is adapted to contain an amount of a pharmaceutical formulation suitable for one application or treatment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a dispenser of the class described which is adapted to prevent external contamination of its contents up to the time of use.

An important object of this invention is to 1 Claim. (01. 128-261) provide a. dispenser which is not bulky and is convenient to carry and use.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and drawings as well as in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of the embodiment of Fig. 1 showing the pharmaceutical formulation and the device as the formulation is, ready for injection into a body cavity; 7

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section showing the formulation partly expelled from the device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of that end of the device opposite the end from which the formulation is expelled; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the end of the device from which the formulation is expelled.

The novel dispenser 1 herein described compries a normally tubular barrel or cylinder 3 which has a discharge opening 5 at one end, through which the pharmaceutical composition 9 contained in the said applicator is expelled, and a movable wall or piston l which is of such a size as to be in touching relation with the walls of the tube 3. The movable wall or piston I may be slightly larger in diameter than the interior diameter of the tube 3 in order that it will tightly contact the walls of the tube and efficiently remove all of the contents as it is propelled along a tube containing a unit amount of a formulation, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. 'The end of the tube remote from the part of the tube or chamber containing the formulation and remote from the discharge opening has an abutment or stationary wall ll having an opening l3 therein, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and in its preferred embodiment an annular depression l5, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. In the space between the movable wall or piston and the stationary wall or abutment there is disposed expansible means H, which means are preferably in the form of a coiled spring which is adapted to urge the movable wall or piston in the direction of the discharge opening of the tube. Means in the nature of a rod 19, confined substantially within the tube, is adapted for compressing the expansible means or spring; and in the preferred form, the said rod i9 is formed such that it is integral with the spring, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Rod [9 has a hook or catch 2| on the end' adjacent to stationary wallor abutment II, which catch or hook is of such a size as to readily pass through opening I3. The expansible means is retained in a compressed state, as illustrated in Fig. 2, by the hook or catch engaging the stationary wall or abutment, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, wherein the embodiment of the invention in which the stationary wall or abutment has an annular depression is illustrated and the hook or catch is shown fitting into the annular depression.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings a spring cup 23 is provided into which the end of the. spring adjacent to the movable wall or piston is fitted. This spring cup is an advantage, since it enables the spring or expansible means in expelling the contents from the tube to more evenly distribute its force over the area of the movable Wall or piston.

Since the pharmaceutical formulation to be dispensed in the applicator of this invention is in the nature of a liquid, semiliquid, jelly, cream, or powder, means are provided for retaining the formulation in the tube until it is to be expelled and introduced into a body cavity. Suitable retaining means may consist of a strip of adhesive fabric or film 2 of such a size that it will completely cover the discharge opening of the tube and of such a nature that it may be readily removed at the time the formulation is to be introduced. into a body cavity.

The tube may be fabricated of any material which is sufficiently rigid and which has sufiicient strength to withstand the pressure of the expansible means or spring in a compressed or contracted state. Strong cardboard, fabricated paper, or plastic may be used, but the preferred material is aluminum or other light weight inexpensive metallic substance. The tube may be lined with a resinous or plastic material along the surfaces with which the pharmaceutical formulation comes in contact to prevent corrosion or softening of the tube and contamination of the pharmaceutical formulation. The movable wall or piston may be composed of the same materials as the tube and may be also coated with a resinous or plastic material, but in the preferred form it is composed of an elastic material such as natural rubber, artificial rubbers, or highly polymerized, solid, elastic substances such as polyethylene. In the preferred form of the device the discharge opening of the tube is smaller in diameter than the tube and has an annular rim 21, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 which acts to stop the expansible means or spring and retain the same within the confines of the tube upon release of the catch or hook and its subsequent expansion and propulsion of the formulation from the tube.

The expansible means or spring may be composed of any substance which has sufiicient strength in its compressed or retracted state and power of expansion to enable it to propel the pharmaceutical formulation from the tube. It is preferred that the expansible means or spring be fabricated of a metallic substance such as steel, although hard semi-elastic materials such as polymerized methyl methacrylate may be used.

The spring cup is fabricated of the same materials as the tube and preferably of aluminum.

The stationary wall or abutment is preferably fabricated of the same materials as the tube. It is necessary that it have s'ufficient strength to retain the expansible means or spring substantially within the confines of the tube. The stationary wall or abutment may be formed integrally with the tube, or the end of the tube 29 may be curled around the stationary wall or 4 abutment, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and thus firmly clamp and hold it in position.

The procedure for using the device as illustrated in the drawings consists in introducing the end of the tube having the discharge opening a short distance into a body cavity 'and releasing the spring by moving the hook or catch into such a position that it passes through the opening in the stationary wall or abutment. The force of the spring then propels the movable wall or pis ton the length of the tube which eXpels the formulation through the discharge opening and into the body cavity. This method of introducing a formulation into a body cavity obviates the necessity of introducing an applicator instrument to the bottom of a body cavity, such as the vagina, when a formulation is to be placed adjacent to and in contact with the cervix, and thus eliminates any danger of mechanical injury to the cervix and the tissues at the bottom of the vagina.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the principal objects of the invention have been accomplished and that numerous and various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein described and that the invention is capable of use and has advantages not specifically described herein; it will therefore be appreciated that the hereinmade disclosures are to be construed in the nature of illustration only and that the invention is to be limited or delineated only by the appended claim but any permissible change to be effected in the construction disclosed in this application must fall within the purview of the claims asserted therein.

What is claimed is:

A combined container and disposable applicator device adapted to contain and inject pharmaceutical formulations contained therein into body cavities; said device comprising a tube including a chamber for pharmaceutical formulations having a discharge opening at one end, a moveable wall in the tube forming the other end of the chamber, said moveable wall being composed of an'elastic material and having a diameter slightly larger than the interior diameter of the said tube, an abutment on the tube remote from the chamber, an expansible spring between the abutment and the moveable wall adapted to urge the moveable wall toward the discharge opening, a spring cup in which the spring is seated and adapted to evenly distribute the force of the spring against the moveable wall, means confined substantially within the tube for compressing the spring and retaining it in a compressed state, said spring being readily releasable from the exterior of the tube.

SUMNER C. WILLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 56,757 Jewell July 31, 1866 1,015,253 Weaver et al. Jan. 16, 1912 1,175,129 Crittenden Mar. 14, 1916 2,183,482 Kurkiian Dec. 12, 1939 OTHER REFERENCES Pages 60 and '70 of Organic Chemistry of Fieser and Fieser, published in 1944 by D. C. Heath and Co., Boston, Massachusetts; a copy is available in Div. 55 of Patent Ofiice. 

